Rain, somebody said, is like confetti from heaven. So even the heavens are celebrating this morning, joining the rest of us at this wonderful commencement ceremony.

有人说，雨水如同天堂洒落的彩纸。所以今早连上天都在为这场盛大的毕业典礼送上祝福，与我们一同欢庆。

Before we go any further, graduates, you have an important task to perform because behind you are your parents and guardians. Two or three or four years ago, they drove into Cardigan, dropped you off, helped you get settled and then turned around and drove back out the gates. It was an extraordinary sacrifice for them. They drove down the trail of tears back to an emptier and lonelier house. They did that because the decision about your education, they knew, was about you. It was not about them. That sacrifice and others they made have brought you to this point. But this morning is not just about you. It is also about them, so I hope you will stand up and turn around and give them a great round of applause. Please.

毕业生们，首先请大家完成一件重要的事。在你们身后，是养育、陪伴你们的父母与监护人。两三年前，他们驱车来到这所学校，将你们安顿妥当，又转身驶出校门。这对他们而言，是莫大的付出。一路不舍离去，回到变得空旷冷清的家中。他们甘愿如此，因为他们深知，你们的求学之路，终究是属于你们自己的人生旅程，而非他们的。正是这份以及许许多多的默默付出，一路陪伴你们走到今天。但今天的荣光不只属于你们，也属于身后的亲人。请大家起身转身，为他们送上热烈的掌声。

Now when somebody asks me how the remarks at Cardigan went, I will be able to say they were interrupted by applause.

今后若有人问起我这次演讲的情况，我便能笑着说，我的讲话数次被掌声打断。

Congratulations, class of 2017. You've reached an important milestone. An important stage of your life is behind you. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you it is the easiest stage of your life, but it is in the books. While you've been at Cardigan, you have all been a part of an important international community as well. And I think that needs to be particularly recognized.

(At this time, Roberts gave brief remarks in other languages.)

祝贺2017届全体毕业生！你们走完了人生一段重要的旅程，告别了一个人生阶段。恕我直言，这也是你们人生中最轻松的一段时光，如今已然落幕。在卡迪根求学的这些年里，你们也身处一个多元交融的国际集体，这份经历同样值得铭记。

（此时，罗伯茨用多种语言简短致辞）

Now around the country today at colleges, high schools, middle schools, commencement speakers are standing before impatient graduates. And they are almost always saying the same things. 

如今全美各地的中学、高校里，毕业典礼的演讲者们面对着一众迫不及待的毕业生，口中的话语往往大同小异。

They will say that today is a commencement exercise. 'It is a beginning, not an end. You should look forward.' And I think that is true enough, however, I think if you're going to look forward to figure out where you're going, it's good to know where you've been and to look back as well. 

人们总会说，毕业并非终点，而是全新的起点，要勇敢向前看。这话固然没错，但在奔赴前路之前，回望来路也同样重要。

And I think if you look back to your first afternoon here at Cardigan, perhaps you will recall that you were lonely. Perhaps you will recall that you were a little scared, a little anxious. And now look at you. You are surrounded by friends that you call brothers, and you are confident in facing the next step in your education.

想必大家还记得初到卡迪根的那个下午，内心满是孤单、忐忑与不安。再看看如今的自己，身边皆是亲如手足的挚友，也能从容自信地迎接下一阶段的学业挑战。

It is worth trying to think why that is so. And when you do, I think you may appreciate that it was because of the support of your classmates in the classroom, on the athletic field and in the dorms.

不妨想一想，自己为何会有这般改变。你会发现，是课堂上、运动场上、宿舍里朝夕相伴的同窗，始终给予彼此支撑。

And as far as the confidence goes, I think you will appreciate that it is not because you succeeded at everything you did, but because with the help of your friends, you were not afraid to fail. And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. 

而这份从容自信，并非源于事事顺遂、从未失利。真正让你们成长的，是有朋友相伴，便不惧失败。跌倒了，就重新站起来继续前行；再次受挫，依旧迎难而上。

And if you failed again, it might be time to think about doing something else. But it was not just success, but not being afraid to fail that brought you to this point.

当然，如果屡屡碰壁，或许也该试着换一条路走。一路走来，成就固然可贵，但敢于直面失败的勇气，才是你们最珍贵的收获。

Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I'll tell you why. 

演讲者们通常还会送上祝福，祝愿大家好运常伴。但我不会这么做，理由如下。

From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. 

在未来的岁月里，我愿你们偶尔遭遇不公，唯有如此，你们才能懂得公正的价值；

I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. 

愿你们体会背叛之痛，从而明白忠诚的意义。

Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don't take friends for granted. 

很抱歉这么说，但我也希望你们时常感到孤单，学会珍惜身边的朋友。

I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. 

我愿你们不时遭遇厄运，这样才会意识到机遇在人生中的分量，明白你的成功并非全然理所应当，他人的失败也绝非咎由自取。

And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship.

人生赛场难免失利，我希望偶尔你的对手会为你的失败幸灾乐祸，这会让你真正明白体育精神的可贵。

 I hope you'll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. 

愿你偶尔被人忽视，由此懂得倾听他人的重要；也愿你历经些许磨难，练就一颗体恤他人的慈悲之心。

Whether I wish these things or not, they're going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.

这些境遇本就是人生的必经之路，无法规避。而你能否从中有所收获，全看你能否从困境中领悟道理。

Now commencement speakers are also expected to give some advice. They give grand advice, and they give some useful tips. The most common grand advice they give is for you to be yourself. It is an odd piece of advice to give people dressed identically, but you should—you should be yourself. 

毕业典礼上，演讲者总免不了给出各式建议，既有宏大的人生寄语，也有实用的生活忠告。最常听到的一句话便是：做你自己。看着台下身着统一服装的你们，这句话听来或许有些奇怪，但我依然希望你们坚守本心。

But you should understand what that means. Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don't make any changes. In a certain sense, you should not be yourself. You should try to become something better.

不过大家要读懂这句话真正的含义：人无完人，做自己绝不代表一成不变。从某种意义上来说，我们更要努力成为更好的人。

People say 'be yourself' because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can't be yourself if you don't learn who are, and you can't learn who you are unless you think about it.

人们劝你"做自己"，是希望你不必刻意迎合他人、随波逐流。可倘若连自己是谁都未曾认清，又何谈做自己？而认清自我，离不开不断地反思与审视。

The Greek philosopher Socrates said, 'The unexamined life is not worth living.' And while 'just do it' might be a good motto for some things, it's not a good motto when it's trying to figure out how to live your life that is before you. 

古希腊哲学家苏格拉底曾说：未经审视的人生，是不值得过的。"放手去做"或许适合很多事，但用来指引人生方向，便远远不够。

And one important clue to living a good life is to not to try to live the good life. The best way to lose the values that are central to who you are is frankly not to think about them at all.

想要拥有精彩的人生，切忌一味追逐所谓的"理想生活"。如果全然不去思考内心坚守的信念，终将慢慢丢掉最本真的自己。

So that's the deep advice. Now some tips as you get ready to go to your new school. Over the last couple of years, I have gotten to know many of you young men pretty well, and I know you are good guys. But you are also privileged young men. And if you weren't privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don't act like it.

以上是一些人生感悟。接下来，给即将踏入新校园的你们提几点小建议。过去几年，我对在座许多同学都有所了解，你们都是善良优秀的少年。同时，你们也是拥有优越条件的一群人。即便初来时并非如此，在这里求学之后，你们也已然拥有了旁人没有的优势。我的建议是：不要把这份优越挂在身上、表在言行里。

When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school.

踏入新校园后，主动去向那些清扫落叶、铲雪、清运垃圾的工作人员问好，记住他们的名字，平日里礼貌相称。

Another piece of advice: When you pass by people you don't recognize on the walks, smile, look them in the eye and say hello. The worst thing that will happen is that you will become known as the young man who smiles and says hello, and that is not a bad thing to start with.

另外，在路上遇见陌生的同学时，面带微笑，直视对方，主动打招呼。最坏的结果，也不过是大家都记得有个爱笑、懂礼貌的少年，这绝非坏事。

You've been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no advice for you.

你们此前就读的是男子学校，大多数人接下来会进入男女同校的校园。这方面，我没有任何建议要给你们。

The last bit of advice I'll give you is very simple, but I think it could make a big difference in your life. Once a week, you should write a note to someone. Not an email. A note on a piece of paper. It will take you exactly 10 minutes. Talk to an adult, let them tell you what a stamp is. You can put the stamp on the envelope. Again, 10 minutes, once a week. I will help you, right now.

最后一条建议十分简单，却可能深刻影响你的一生：每周抽出十分钟，亲手写一封书信，而非发送邮件。拿上信纸，提笔书写。若是不清楚邮票的用法，可以问问身边的长辈，再把邮票贴在信封上。一周十分钟，坚持下去就好。现在，我来教大家写下第一封信。

I will dictate to you the first note you should write. It will say, 'Dear [fill in the name of a teacher at Cardigan Mountain School].' Say: 'I have started at this new school. We are reading [blank] in English. Football or soccer practice is hard, but I'm enjoying it. Thank you for teaching me.' Put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it. It will mean a great deal to people who—for reasons most of us cannot contemplate—have dedicated themselves to teaching middle school boys. As I said, that will take you exactly 10 minutes a week. By the end of the school year, you will have sent notes to 40 people. Forty people will feel a little more special because you did, and they will think you are very special because of what you did. No one else is going to carry that dividend during your time at school.

信可以这样写："尊敬的卡迪根山地中学[老师姓名]：我已经来到新学校开始学习了。目前英语课正在研读______内容。橄榄球/足球训练虽然辛苦，但我乐在其中。谢谢您曾经的教导。" 写好后封入信封、贴上邮票寄出。对于全身心投入初中教育、默默耕耘的老师们而言，这一封小小的信件，会带给他们莫大的温暖。正如我所说，每周只需十分钟。一学年下来，你会寄出四十封信件。四十个人会因你的心意倍感温暖，也会记住这个心怀感恩的少年。这份善意与美好，会成为你校园生活中独有的珍贵收获。

Enough advice. I would like to end by reading some important lyrics. I cited the Greek philosopher Socrates earlier. These lyrics are from the great American philosopher, Bob Dylan. They're almost 50 years old. He wrote them for his son, Jesse, who he was missing while he was on tour. It lists the hopes that a parent might have for a son and for a daughter. They're also good goals for a son and a daughter. The wishes are beautiful, they're timeless. They're universal. They're good and true, except for one: It is the wish that gives the song its title and its refrain. That wish is a parent's lament. It's not a good wish. So these are the lyrics from Forever Young by Bob Dylan:

建议就说到这里。最后，我想分享一段动人的歌词收尾。前面我提到了古希腊哲学家苏格拉底，接下来这段歌词，出自美国传奇音乐人鲍勃·迪伦，他堪称一位伟大的当代思想者。这首作品距今已有近五十年，是他外出巡演、思念儿子杰西时所作。歌词里满是父母对儿女的期许，这些期许也值得每一个人当作人生目标。字句美好、跨越时光、普世动人，唯有歌名与反复吟唱的那句愿望例外——那并非美好的祝福，而是一位父亲的感慨。下面便是《永远年轻》的歌词：

May God bless you and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

And may you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

And may you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

May your song always be sung

And may you stay forever young

Thank you.

愿上帝庇佑你，岁岁常相伴

愿你所有心愿，皆能得圆满

愿你常怀善心，助人亦受人相助

愿你勇攀星河，步步踏向理想之巅

愿你永远年轻，初心不变

愿你长大成人，品行正直坦荡

愿你坚守本心，活得纯粹真诚

愿你洞悉世事，看清前路光亮

愿你勇敢无畏，身姿挺拔刚强

愿你永远年轻，初心不变

愿你双手勤勉，步履永远轻盈

愿你根基稳固，不惧世事变迁

愿你心中常存欢喜，歌声永远嘹亮

愿你永远年轻，初心不变

谢谢大家。